Tenn. Comptroller Wants School Funding Formula Fix

ERIK SCHELZIG | Associated Press

NASHVILLE (AP) – State Comptroller Justin Wilson says Tennessee's school funding formula is fraught with complexity and a lack of transparency that could lead to either inadvertent or intentional errors in distributing state money.

Wilson said in a letter to Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman this week that the department should take steps to enhance the accuracy of the funding formula that determines how $3.8 billion is directed to school districts around the state.

The comptroller's study found that average attendance figures –which play a key role in determining how much state money flows to schools – are self-reported, and that there is little the state can do to verify those numbers.

Wilson said Education Department and state lawmakers should work on ways to improve the formula without making it more complicated.

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